Monday, June 22, 2009
China's need for "living space."
In a previous post I mentioned a speech by the then Vice-Chairman of China's Military Commission, Chi Haotian (http://www.rense.com/general85/China'sPlanToConquer.htm ) to top officers and generals in which Chi opined:
" The first pressing issue facing us is living space. This is the biggest focus of the revitalization of the Chinese race. In my last speech, I said that the fight over basic living resources (including land and ocean) is the source of the vast majority of wars in history. This may change in the information age, but not fundamentally. Our per capita resources are much less than those of Germany's back then. In addition, economic development in the last twenty-plus years had a negative impact, and climates are rapidly changing for the worse. Our resources are in very short supply. The environment is severely polluted, especially that of soil, water, and air. Not only our ability to sustain and develop our race, but even its survival is gravely threatened, to a degree much greater than faced Germany back then Anybody who has been to Western countries knows that their living space is much better than ours. They have forests alongside the highways, while we hardly have any trees by our streets. Their sky is often blue with white clouds, while our sky is covered with a layer of dark haze. Their tap water is clean enough for drinking, while even our ground water is so polluted that it can't be drunk without filtering."
===================
Now we have an excellent article by Paul Goble on his windowoneurasia blog (http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2009/06/window-on-eurasia-chinese-bestseller.html )
about a Chinese bestselling book that suggests China will attempt to dominate the Russian Far East. The article is reprinted below:
Paul GobleVienna, June 20
A new Chinese bestselling book suggesting that Beijing will dominate the Russian Far East in the coming decades has raised questions among Russian experts not only about how much this book reflects official thinking in China but also about what the Russian government can and should consider doing to counter such an outcome.The book entitled “China Gets Angry” has sold some 700,000 copies since its release three months ago, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” reports today. Written by five Chinese intellectuals, the book’s basic message is that China is destined be the leader of the world and does not need to kowtow to anyone.
(www.kp.ru/daily/24313/506551/).In discussing Russia, the book talks about it as “a living space” for the still growing Chinese people, and it pointedly suggests that “sober-thinking Chinese need to get rid of any doubt on this point: sooner or later we will be” in Siberia and the Russian Far East developing the vast areas that Moscow has not.To assess this book, its implications of its argument for Russia, and whether Moscow has the time necessary to change course, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” turned to Vil’ Gel’bras, a longtime and internationally recognized Russian specialist on China who works at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African countries.Gel’bras, for his part, said Beijing’s interest in Russian territories east of the Urals was hardly surprising given the imbalance of population and agricultural land in China. For the 900 million peasants of China, there are only about 120 million hectares of land, approximately 0.13 per agricultural laborer. In Russia, on the other hand, there are 2.5 hectares per rural worker.
In addition to that reason to look north, Chinese demographic policy also is playing a role. Because of Beijing’s one child policy and the preference Chinese parents have for boys, the Russian sinologist says, the number of Chinese men will be 30 million greater than the number of Chinese women by 2015.
Asked by the paper where they will look for mates, Gel’bras responded with a question of his own “Haven’t you guessed already?”All of this is a matter of concern, Gel’bras says. But he says that he “does not believe that [the Chinese] at the official level are thinking up any serious actions against [Russians].” They have “more than sufficient internal problems” – including unemployment – to occupy themselves at the present time.But the Moscow China specialist continues, “the powers that be in China are not going to interview with the development of nationalist ideas like those contained in the book.” Indeed, he says, they have every reason to do so at the present time: such ideas expressed so bluntly “distract the people from the crisis.”In response to a query as to how far the book expresses the views of officials, Gel’bras says that on the one hand, the book could not have been published if the authorities did not have a certain sympathy for its ideas. And on the other, he quotes Dun Tsin, the editor of “Jenmin Jibao,” as having expressed similar views.
In a recent article, Dun wrote that “in the final analysis, China apparently is preparing to subject the Russian Far East to its fundamental influence but in such a way that it will not cause Moscow nervousness. This influence will be based not on the enormous influx of Chinese settlers but on the not foreseen before ‘sinification’ of Russians.”And the Chinese editor continued, “one fine day a serious crisis will arise, and in the face of the weakening political and military influence of Moscow, these Russians possibly will prefer to make the choice in favor of Beijing and not of their own government.
In such a hypothetical situation, the Russian Far Eastern region possibly will become a province of China.”According to Gel’bras, the Chinese are working in this direction already, offering Russian specialists “favorable conditions to acquire residences,” to study the Chinese language, and to work normally. And he adds, “many Far Easterners, cut off from Moscow, already are adapting themselves to these programs.”Beijing’s approach which also involves the construction of highways and other infrastructure up to the Russian border and into Central Asia, something the Russian government has not done on its side of the line. And as a result, the Chinese are simply exploiting Moscow’s failures in this and other areas.
Looking out five to ten years, Gel’bras sees little reason for optimism from a Russian perspective, although he suggests “it is possible that [Russians] will yet change their approach … if of course [they] do not want to lose a sixth of the area of the country” through the quiet expansion of China that the bestselling book there suggests.The Russian military has often played up the Chinese threat as have some Russian nationalists and residents of the Far East seeking investment from the center, but the statement of Gel’bras is more disturbing than any of their writings precisely because it is so calm and matter of fact about something that most Russians and many others would see as a huge tragedy.
=====================
Very interesting article and perspective on this issue.
" The first pressing issue facing us is living space. This is the biggest focus of the revitalization of the Chinese race. In my last speech, I said that the fight over basic living resources (including land and ocean) is the source of the vast majority of wars in history. This may change in the information age, but not fundamentally. Our per capita resources are much less than those of Germany's back then. In addition, economic development in the last twenty-plus years had a negative impact, and climates are rapidly changing for the worse. Our resources are in very short supply. The environment is severely polluted, especially that of soil, water, and air. Not only our ability to sustain and develop our race, but even its survival is gravely threatened, to a degree much greater than faced Germany back then Anybody who has been to Western countries knows that their living space is much better than ours. They have forests alongside the highways, while we hardly have any trees by our streets. Their sky is often blue with white clouds, while our sky is covered with a layer of dark haze. Their tap water is clean enough for drinking, while even our ground water is so polluted that it can't be drunk without filtering."
===================
Now we have an excellent article by Paul Goble on his windowoneurasia blog (http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2009/06/window-on-eurasia-chinese-bestseller.html )
about a Chinese bestselling book that suggests China will attempt to dominate the Russian Far East. The article is reprinted below:
Paul GobleVienna, June 20
A new Chinese bestselling book suggesting that Beijing will dominate the Russian Far East in the coming decades has raised questions among Russian experts not only about how much this book reflects official thinking in China but also about what the Russian government can and should consider doing to counter such an outcome.The book entitled “China Gets Angry” has sold some 700,000 copies since its release three months ago, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” reports today. Written by five Chinese intellectuals, the book’s basic message is that China is destined be the leader of the world and does not need to kowtow to anyone.
(www.kp.ru/daily/24313/506551/).In discussing Russia, the book talks about it as “a living space” for the still growing Chinese people, and it pointedly suggests that “sober-thinking Chinese need to get rid of any doubt on this point: sooner or later we will be” in Siberia and the Russian Far East developing the vast areas that Moscow has not.To assess this book, its implications of its argument for Russia, and whether Moscow has the time necessary to change course, “Komsomolskaya Pravda” turned to Vil’ Gel’bras, a longtime and internationally recognized Russian specialist on China who works at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African countries.Gel’bras, for his part, said Beijing’s interest in Russian territories east of the Urals was hardly surprising given the imbalance of population and agricultural land in China. For the 900 million peasants of China, there are only about 120 million hectares of land, approximately 0.13 per agricultural laborer. In Russia, on the other hand, there are 2.5 hectares per rural worker.
In addition to that reason to look north, Chinese demographic policy also is playing a role. Because of Beijing’s one child policy and the preference Chinese parents have for boys, the Russian sinologist says, the number of Chinese men will be 30 million greater than the number of Chinese women by 2015.
Asked by the paper where they will look for mates, Gel’bras responded with a question of his own “Haven’t you guessed already?”All of this is a matter of concern, Gel’bras says. But he says that he “does not believe that [the Chinese] at the official level are thinking up any serious actions against [Russians].” They have “more than sufficient internal problems” – including unemployment – to occupy themselves at the present time.But the Moscow China specialist continues, “the powers that be in China are not going to interview with the development of nationalist ideas like those contained in the book.” Indeed, he says, they have every reason to do so at the present time: such ideas expressed so bluntly “distract the people from the crisis.”In response to a query as to how far the book expresses the views of officials, Gel’bras says that on the one hand, the book could not have been published if the authorities did not have a certain sympathy for its ideas. And on the other, he quotes Dun Tsin, the editor of “Jenmin Jibao,” as having expressed similar views.
In a recent article, Dun wrote that “in the final analysis, China apparently is preparing to subject the Russian Far East to its fundamental influence but in such a way that it will not cause Moscow nervousness. This influence will be based not on the enormous influx of Chinese settlers but on the not foreseen before ‘sinification’ of Russians.”And the Chinese editor continued, “one fine day a serious crisis will arise, and in the face of the weakening political and military influence of Moscow, these Russians possibly will prefer to make the choice in favor of Beijing and not of their own government.
In such a hypothetical situation, the Russian Far Eastern region possibly will become a province of China.”According to Gel’bras, the Chinese are working in this direction already, offering Russian specialists “favorable conditions to acquire residences,” to study the Chinese language, and to work normally. And he adds, “many Far Easterners, cut off from Moscow, already are adapting themselves to these programs.”Beijing’s approach which also involves the construction of highways and other infrastructure up to the Russian border and into Central Asia, something the Russian government has not done on its side of the line. And as a result, the Chinese are simply exploiting Moscow’s failures in this and other areas.
Looking out five to ten years, Gel’bras sees little reason for optimism from a Russian perspective, although he suggests “it is possible that [Russians] will yet change their approach … if of course [they] do not want to lose a sixth of the area of the country” through the quiet expansion of China that the bestselling book there suggests.The Russian military has often played up the Chinese threat as have some Russian nationalists and residents of the Far East seeking investment from the center, but the statement of Gel’bras is more disturbing than any of their writings precisely because it is so calm and matter of fact about something that most Russians and many others would see as a huge tragedy.
=====================
Very interesting article and perspective on this issue.
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Also here is the entire speech from the link:
The following is the actual text of a speech delivered in December, 2005 by Comrade Chi Haotian the Vice-Chairman of China's Military Commission to top officers and generals. Keep in mind that China has for many years advocated deceitful and covert warfare against its enemies. This is their Modus Operandi. There should be little question that a "Bird Flu" Pandemic would deeply excite them. (Don't forget how they have poisoned thousands of American pets and knowingly placed lead paints on toddler's toys.)
"Comrades, I'm very excited today, because the large-scale online survey sina.com that was done for us showed that our next generation is quite promising and our Party's cause will be carried on. In answering the question, "Will you shoot at women, children and prisoners of war," more than 80 per cent of the respondents answered in the affirmative, exceeding by far our expectations. Today I'd like to focus on why we asked sina.com to conduct this online survey among our people. My speech today is a sequel to my speech last time, during which I started with a discussion of the issue of the three islands [Taiwan, Diaoyu Islands and the Spratley Islands --- Ott] and mentioned that 20 years of the idyllic theme of 'peace and development' had come to an end, and concluded that modernization under the saber is the only option for China's next phase. I also mentioned we have a vital stake overseas. The central issue of this survey appears to be whether one should shoot at women, children and prisoners of war, but its real significance goes far beyond that. Ostensibly, our intention is mainly to figure out what the Chinese people's attitude towards war is: If these future soldiers do not hesitate to kill even noncombatants, they'll naturally be doubly ready and ruthless in killing combatants. Therefore, the responses to the survey questions may reflect the general attitude people have towards war..We wanted to know: If China's global development will necessitate massive deaths in enemy countries; will our people endorse that scenario? Will they be for or against it?
The fact is, our 'development' refers to the great revitalization of the Chinese nation, which, of course, is not limited to the land we have now but also includes the whole world. As everybody knows, according to the views propagated by the Western scholars, humanity as a whole originated from one single mother in Africa. Therefore no race can claim racial superiority. However, according to the research conducted by most Chinese scholars, the Chinese are different from other races on earth. We did not originate in Africa. Instead, we originated independently in the land of China. Therefore, we can rightfully assert that we are the product of cultural roots of more than a million years, civilization and progress of more than ten thousand years, an ancient nation of five thousand years, and a single Chinese entity of two thousand years. This is the Chinese nation that calls itself 'descendants of Yan and Huang.'
During our long history, our people have disseminated throughout the Americas and the regions along the Pacific Rim, and they became Indians in the Americas and the East Asian ethnic groups in the South Pacific. We all know that on account of our national superiority, during the thriving and prosperous Tang Dynasty our civilization was at the peak of the world. We were the centre of the world civilization, and no other civilization in the world was comparable to ours. Later on, because of our complacency, narrow-mindedness, and the self-enclosure of our own country, we were surpassed by Western civilization, and the centre of the world shifted to the West.
In reviewing history, one may ask: Will the centre of the world civilization shift back to China? Actually, Comrade Liu Huaqing made similar points in early 1980's Based on an historical analysis, he pointed out that the centre of world civilization is shifting. It shifted from the East to Western Europe and later to the United States; now it is shifting back to the East. Therefore, if we refer to the 19th Century as the British Century and the 20th century as the American Century, then the 21st Century will be the Chinese Century! (Wild applause fills the auditorium.)
Our Chinese people are wiser than the Germans because, fundamentally, our race is superior to theirs. As a result, we have a longer history, more people, and larger land area. On this basis, our ancestors left us with the two most essential heritages, which are atheism and great unity. It was Confucius, the founder of our Chinese culture, who gave us these heritages. These two heritages determined that we have a stronger ability to survive than the West. That is why the Chinese race has been able to prosper for so long. We are destined 'not to be buried by either heaven or earth' no matter how severe the natural, man-made, and national disasters. This is our advantage. Take response to war as an example. The reason that the United States remains today is that it has never seen war on its mainland. Once its enemies aim at the mainland, the enemies would have already reached Washington before its congress finishes debating and authorizes the president to declare war. But for us, we don't waste time on these trivial things. Maybe you have now come to understand why we recently decided to further promulgate atheism. If we let theology from the West into China and empty us from the inside, if we let all Chinese people listen to God and follow God, who will obediently listen to us and follow us? If the common people don't believe Comrade Hu Jintao is a qualified leader, begin to question his authority, and want to monitor him, if the religious followers in our society question why we are leading God in churches, can our Party continue to rule China??
The first pressing issue facing us is living space. This is the biggest focus of the revitalization of the Chinese race. In my last speech, I said that the fight over basic living resources (including land and ocean) is the source of the vast majority of wars in history. This may change in the information age, but not fundamentally. Our per capita resources are much less than those of Germany's back then. In addition, economic development in the last twenty-plus years had a negative impact, and climates are rapidly changing for the worse. Our resources are in very short supply. The environment is severely polluted, especially that of soil, water, and air. Not only our ability to sustain and develop our race, but even its survival is gravely threatened, to a degree much greater than faced Germany back then Anybody who has been to Western countries knows that their living space is much better than ours. They have forests alongside the highways, while we hardly have any trees by our streets. Their sky is often blue with white clouds, while our sky is covered with a layer of dark haze. Their tap water is clean enough for drinking, while even our ground water is so polluted that it can't be drunk without filtering. They have few people in the streets, and two or three people can occupy a small residential building; in contrast our streets are always crawling with people, and several people have to share one room.
Many years ago, there was a book titled Yellow Catastrophes. It said that, due to our following the American style of consumption, our limited resources would no longer support the population and society would collapse once our population reaches 1.3 billion. Now our population has already exceeded this limit, and we are now relying on imports to sustain our nation. It's not that we haven't paid attention to this issue. The Ministry of Land Resources is specialized in this issue. But we must understand that the term 'living space' (lebenstraum) is too closely related to Nazi Germany.
The reason we don't want to discuss this too openly is to avoid the West's association of us with Nazi Germany, which could in turn reinforce the view that China is a threat. Therefore, in our emphasis on He Xin's new theory, 'Human Rights are just living rights' we only talk about 'living' but not 'space' so as to avoid using the term 'living space.' From the perspective of history, the reason that China is faced with the issue of living space is because Western countries have developed ahead of Eastern countries. Western countries established colonies all around the world, therefore giving themselves an advantage on the issue of living space. To solve this problem, we must lead the Chinese people outside of China, so that they can develop outside of China.
Would the United States allow us to go out to gain new living space? First, if the United States is firm in blocking us, it is hard for us to do anything significant to Taiwan and some other countries! Second, even if we could snatch some land from Taiwan, Vietnam, India, or even Japan, how much more living space can we get? Very trivial! Only countries like the United States, Canada and Australia have the vast land to serve our need for mass colonization.
Therefore, solving the 'issue of America' is the key to solving all other issues. First, this makes it possible for us to have many people migrate there and even establish another Chinaunder the same leadership of the CCP. America was originally discovered by the ancestors of the yellow race, but Columbus gave credit to the White race. We the descendants of the Chinese nation are ENTITLED to the possession of the land! It is historical destiny that China and United States will come into unavoidable confrontation on a narrow path and fight. In the long run, the relationship of China and the United States is one of a life-and-death struggle. Of course, right now it is not the time to openly break up with them yet. Our reform and opening to the outside world still rely on their capital and technology. We still need America. Therefore, we must do everything we can to promote our relationship with America, learn from America in all aspects and use America as an example to reconstruct our country. Only by using special means to 'clean up' America will we be able to lead the Chinese people there. Only by using non-destructive weapons that can kill many people will we be able to reserve America for ourselves.
There has been rapid development of modern biological technology, and new bio weapons have been invented one after another. Of course we have not been idle; in the past years we have seized the opportunity to master weapons of this kind. We are capable of achieving our purpose of 'cleaning up' America all of a sudden. When Comrade Xiaoping was still with us, the Party Central Committee had the perspicacity to make the right decision not to develop aircraft carrier groups and focused instead on developing lethal weapons that can eliminate mass populations of the enemy country. Biological weapons are unprecedented in their ruthlessness, but if the Americans do not die then the Chinese have to die. If the Chinese people are strapped to the present land, a total societal collapse is bound to take place. According to the computations of the author of Yellow Peril, more than half of the Chinese will die, and that figure would be more than 800 million people! Just after the liberation, our yellow land supported nearly 500 million people, while today the official figure of the population is more than 1.3 billion. This yellow land has reached the limit of its capacity. One day, who know how soon it will come, the great collapse will occur any time and more than half of the population will have to go.
It is indeed brutal to kill one or two hundred million Americans. But that is the only path that will secure a Chinese century, a century in which the CCP leads the world. We, as revolutionary humanitarians, do not want deaths, But if history confronts us with a choice between deaths of Chinese and those of Americans, we'd have to pick the latter, as, for us, it is more important to safeguard the lives of the Chinese people and the life of our Party. The last problem I want to talk about is of firmly seizing the preparations for military battle. The central committee believes, as long as we resolve the United States problem at one blow, our domestic problems will all be readily solved. Therefore, our military battle preparation appears to aim at Taiwan, but in fact is aimed at the United States, and the preparation is far beyond the scope of attacking aircraft carriers or satellites. Marxism pointed out that violence is the midwife for the birth of the new society. Therefore war is the midwife for the birth of China's century."